kamikaze

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˌkɑmɪˈkɑzi/ UK /ˌkæmɪˈkɑːzi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a reckless suicidal attack or attacker, especially a WWII pilot

The kamikaze pilot dove his plane straight into the enemy carrier.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a reckless suicidal attack... suicidal reckless foolhardy desperatedo-or-die

Opposites

cautious prudent careful

Simplified etymology

Kamikaze is Japanese for “divine wind.” The name originally referred to a wind that destroyed an invading Mongol fleet in 1281 and was later applied to Japanese suicide pilots during the Second World War.

Etymology

From Japanese kamikaze ('divine wind'), from kami ('god, spirit') + kaze ('wind'), originally the typhoons that destroyed Mongol invasion fleets in the 13th century, later applied to WWII suicide pilots.

kami Japanese kaze Japanese

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# kamikaze

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌkɑmɪˈkɑzi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌkæmɪˈkɑːzi/

## Meanings
1. a reckless suicidal attack or attacker, especially a WWII pilot

## Examples
- The kamikaze pilot dove his plane straight into the enemy carrier.

## Synonyms
- suicidal
- reckless
- foolhardy
- desperate
- do-or-die

## Antonyms
- cautious
- prudent
- careful

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: kami
- Root: kaze

## Etymology
From Japanese kamikaze ('divine wind'), from kami ('god, spirit') + kaze ('wind'), originally the typhoons that destroyed Mongol invasion fleets in the 13th century, later applied to WWII suicide pilots.

## AI Etymology
Kamikaze comes from Japanese kamikaze ('divine wind'), from kami ('god, spirit') + kaze ('wind'), originally the typhoons that destroyed Mongol invasion fleets in the 13th century, later applied to WWII suicide pilots. The etymological trail includes Japanese kami, Japanese kaze. Its current noun use means "a reckless suicidal attack or attacker, especially a WWII pilot".

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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